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For years on end, both companies and customers have struggled with the notion of customer service.

Brand executives have been pondering on which is the most efficient yet cost-effective way of providing support that will attract loyal clients, while people have been reluctant to contact businesses for help because of the long on-hold periods and costly phone bills.

However, with the growing ubiquity of online communications and the recent shift towards online customer support systems, seamless and efficient customer experience has become not only a requirement, but also a crucial part of every business’s customer retention strategy.

Oftentimes, a customer's on-site experience might suffer due to excess time spent waiting on hold or lack of support during all stages of their purchasing journey. Through real-time online communication, such as live chat, businesses have the chance to bridge all interactive platforms together for a seamless user experience and improve the efficiency of your customer support team. Here are the top three ways businesses can improve the online customer experience by implementing real-time communication solutions.

How to Improve Customer Experience With Real-Time Communication

1) Create a seamless, personalized user experience.

Through in-browser communication, customer support agents can get comprehensive insights into the customers' purchasing habits and prior interactions with the brand. This helps to provide personalized service through product recommendations based on the visitor's previous shopping history. On-site customer support options could help visitors easily navigate the website and get closer to making a purchase. Making these solutions available will increase purchasing intent and improve customer satisfaction rates.

2) Build customer relationships based on trust.

Today, face-to-face interactions have become a prerequisite for gaining people’s trust and establishing a loyal customer base. Real-time communication technology makes it easy to cater to customers' needs by enabling them to contact your business through voice or video web call, whenever they need help, which helps customers communicate problems to customer support reps in a much quicker and more efficient way.

3) Improve response rate and decrease hold times.

A study has shown that customers tend to hang up the phone after 1 minute and 55 seconds of hold time, and, for 34% of them, this will be the last time they call. A way for your business to retain a satisfied customer base is by offering multiple contact options across different communication channels -- that way, it'll be easier for customer support reps to sort out requests and provide a prompt response.

What needs to be noted, however, is that it’s important that the quality of the communication is maintained to the same level on every platform. That’s where real-time communication can be of great help -- it simplifies your various customer support solutions and makes it easier to navigate between the communications channels your customers contact you from.

A positive customer experience is very much determined by whether customers' issues are met with a quick and proactive solution by customer support reps -- and whether they receive personalized and attentive service. Features like the video and voice web calls help cater to the customer’s needs and ensure that a business that is transparent and approachable. A satisfied buyer is one that has been made to feel like an important part of the business’ team, and those who have grown loyal to the brand are much more likely to return for future purchases -- and spend more, too.

Real-time communication solutions will not only improve their online user experience but also your sales, traffic rates, and overall reputation. Customers will always value personal treatment and high-quality service, and one way to ensure that your business lives up to their expectations is through the integration of online communication software to help you help your customers.